WANA, April 23: Five wanted tribal militants would lay down their arms at a jirga to be held in Shakai, 25km from here, on Saturday morning. The fugitives will be given amnesty at the ceremony in exchange for their allegiance to the country.
The jirga would be attended by senior military officials, including commander of the 11th corps Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain, Inspector-General of Frontier Corps Maj-Gen Hamid Khan, Fata parliamentarians, elders and notables of the South Waziristan region.
Nek Mohammad, a former Taliban commander from the Yargulkhel sub-tribe, his uncles Noor Islam and Mohammad Sharif, and two others, Maulvi Mohammad Abbas and Maulvi Abdul Aziz, are wanted by the government for sheltering foreign militants.
The militants will lay down their arms in the presence of tribesmen and announce their loyalty to Pakistan. They will also give an undertaking of good conduct. A big jirga of different sub-tribes of the predominant Wazir tribes was held here on Friday which was attended by over 2,000 people.
Speaking on the occasion, MNA Maulana Mairajuddin said he hoped for a durable peace in the region. He said that the corps commander and other senior officials would attend the reconciliation ceremony scheduled to be held at a Madressah.
He said: "Nek Mohammad will present turban, rosary and Maswak to Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain." The army commander, he said, would announce clemency on behalf of the government.
AFP ADDS: The tribesmen have agreed to surrender after striking an amnesty deal with the government, officials said. The deal, brokered by lawmakers representing tribal regions, allows the tribesmen and up to 400 fighters to go free in exchange for pledges to live peacefully.
"Nek Mohammad and his associates will not be arrested as they have been given amnesty under the agreement," a local official told AFP. "According to the agreement, Nek Mohammad and his colleagues will not indulge in any militant activities and they will not launch attacks in Afghanistan."
"By the grace of Allah the matter has been resolved," Maulana Abdul Malik, one of the MPs who brokered the deal, told AFP. The majority of the 167 tribesmen and fighters captured in the March offensive will be freed, and foreign fighters will be allowed to live in the tribal region if they lay down arms and furnish guarantees of peace.
MNA Maulana Mairajuddin said that foreign fighters living in the area would be allowed to stay provided they registered with authorities and offered guarantees not to use Pakistan's soil against any other country.
